


Old Wounds

by deepseaCritter



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, M/M, breakfast talk turns bad, clones can and will gossip, hatch holds a grudge against rift, i borrowed blank for this, not everyone knows the background story, tagged as mature because i'm not sure yet how it ends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-14 06:46:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17503640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deepseaCritter/pseuds/deepseaCritter
Summary: Hatch was all for having a nice breakfast, but overheard conversation caught his attention. New information opens up old wounds, and Hatch can't quite believe it.





	Old Wounds

**Author's Note:**

> Dinge, Hatch, and Rift are my OCs.
> 
> Blank belongs to very awesome and dear  letitrainathousandflames

Hatch was in an unusually bad mood, and the way he stomped down the hallway had vode moving quickly to get out of his way. ARCs in general tended to have an intimidating presence and this morning Hatch was living up to that. He was in his blacks, which now somehow made him seem larger than he was. There was an angry scowl on his face, and he just looked like he was ready for a fight. Only the older clones (the much older ones) didn’t seem to react, other than to remark that it was a little early for trouble.

\---

Everything had started in the mess. Hatch was enjoying his second cup of caf and finishing up his breakfast rations when he overheard some talk about the last visit to Coruscant. It was a lot of the same talk of drunken escapades in and around 79s, which he had happily participated in. A bit of downtime was always enjoyable. He overheard someone mentioned that he saw one of the bomb squad heading off with that reconditioned heavy gunner—the one that didn’t talk and tended to get spacy during battle. What was his name? Blank, yeah…because that’s how he looked. Just blank.

Nothing like a bit of scuttlebutt with breakfast and that had Hatch’s attention. He had been part of demolitions before he was sent for ARC training, and he tried to think which of his old squad mates would bother with that obviously defective vod. Who had he seen out at the bar that night? That was a useless question. Pretty much everyone was there. He could eliminate a few vode, but that still left a lot of options. He casually cut into the conversation to find out more information.

“Well, you know ordnance. Crazy is as crazy does.” That earned him a laugh. Really that could apply to several of their jobs, but everyone knew the bomb squads tended to be a little more over the top.

“You know it vod. Still, that’s a little risky. Even if I was super desperate for some company, I wouldn’t do it. I’ve heard stories about that one. And Dinge here—” the clone thumbed in the direction of his companion, “—He’s seen him on the field.”

“It’s true. Blank is…scary.” Dinge nodded solemnly. “It’s like he becomes a droid and doesn’t recognize any of us. Just keeps firing away at everything and nothing. He even hurt some of his own vode because he was so… _gone_. Or that’s what I’ve heard, that happened before I was assigned here. I try and keep my distance from him.” 

Hatch had heard the stories as well. Stuff like that spread quickly through the company, even if you didn’t want it to. Rex had somehow managed to convince the Kaminoans the clone still had value even though the reconditioning process wasn’t quite effective. Or maybe it had been too effective. Either way, something irregular happened with Blank and he was usually under surveillance for any additional problems.

Dinge continued, “Makes me wonder about the vod who was with him though. Might be just as crazy. They’ve been pretty _close_ since we left the planet. Blank hasn’t been staying in his bunk at night, so I’m guessing he’s found somewhere else to sleep. Sure, it’s nice to have someone to keep you warm at night, but Blank? I don’t get it.”

Their conversation had caught the attention of those around them, heads were turned to listen in from around the table. It was and interesting diversion for the morning, so that wasn’t a surprise to Hatch. He could hear snippets of whispered comments, but couldn’t quite catch the name of the _di’kut_ who was hooking up with a reconditioned clone.

“Hey, sometimes things just click. Can’t explain it. I say let ‘em be happy.” That was from two tables over, and Hatch didn’t know the vod. There were nods and murmurs of agreement. “ _Manda_ knows we don’t get a lot of time to be happy.” A few cups banged against the table tops. “Plus, Blank’s not that bad. He’s still one of us. Rex wouldn’t have bothered if Blank was a lost cause.”

“I’m just saying. There’s a reason why his bunk is separated from everyone else. There’s a reason Rex is keeping a close eye on him. And any vod who wants part of that is just…” Dinge shook his head with a grimace. _Crazy_ was the only word he could think of.

“Well clearly some vod thought they made a good pair. Do you know who the other one was? The one from the bomb squad?” Hatch recognized one of Rex’s men, the one with blue tattoos on his face and head. The conversation was sure to make it back to the captain now.

“Rift…I think.” Dinge said thoughtfully. “Although I’m not sure. Don’t really know him. Don’t see him around much.”

Hatch choked on his caf, coughing as he spit out, “Did you say Rift?”

Dinge nodded. “Yeah. You know him?”

Hatch’s expression turned dark. “I know him.”

Hatch didn’t want to say more. He couldn't say more. Suddenly his mind was flooded by old memories, the pain and anger hit him like dozen blaster bolts. It wasn't fair that he hurt, and it just didn't make sense. Quickly, he got up and excused himself from the table, and headed out of the mess. Behind him he heard more talking, asking what had just happened and why he had reacted that way. The sound was cut off as the doors closed and he stood in the hall, getting angrier by the second.

No, he had to see for himself. Had to see the truth with his own eyes.

Turning on his heels, Hatch made his way to the barracks.


End file.
